The gift of life
Organ and tissue donation is the ultimate gift. It takes just a minute to register as a donor, but the impact of your decision lasts a lifetime.
These are the sentiments of Danielle Fisher, the General Manager of the NSW Organ and Tissue Donation Service (OTDS). “One donor alone can save up to seven lives and help many more through eye and tissue donation,” Danielle said.
During DonateLife Week last week, which encouraged people to register as donors, countless were reminded that organ and tissue donation can truly transform and save lives.
Service NSW ran a two-week campaign in support of DonateLife Week including a prominent tile in the Service NSW app to link customers to the Australian Organ Donor Register.
The Donate Life promotional tile received almost 100,000 clicks during a similar campaign in 2022, linking thousands of people from the Service NSW app through to the national register.
At the NSW launch at Campbelltown Hospital, a donor family shared their story about the comfort donation and being able to save other lives, brought them following the death of their seven year old son, and Amanda Larkin, the Chief Executive congratulated staff on the progress that has been made the hospital’s donation specialist teams over many years embedding donation into end of life care in in South Western Sydney LHD.
Across our District, staff at had the chance to meet donation specialists at information stalls. Cupcakes were delivered to intensive care units, emergency departments and operating theatres to recognise the work of our critical care staff to support donation in end-of-life care and encourage conversations about donation.
In Australia, families are always asked to support their loved one’s decision to be a donor. “Families are much more likely to agree to donation if their loved one was registered and they knew they wanted to be a donor,” Danielle said.
There are currently around 1,800 people on the organ waitlist, and to help them, we need more Australians to register – and to tell their family they want to be a donor.
Think you’re already registered? Best to check, as many people think they are but aren’t. In NSW, you can no longer register to be an organ donor via your driver’s licence. Check using your Medicare card at donatelife.gov.au It takes a minute to register on the Australian Organ Donor Register at donatelife.gov.au or through myGov or the Express Plus Medicare app.
